vision2learn courses are funded by the Learning and Skills Council. This means that the courses are normally free of charge to anyone over the age of 16 who has been ordinarily resident in England for 3 years or more, as long as this residency has been for purposes other than full-time study. To learn more about this course or to sign up visit vision2learn.

Course info:

Health and Safety aims to help you become a more effective member of your organisation by examining health and safety legislation and practical health and safety issues that may arise in your workplace. It adopts a preventative approach to hazards and is aimed at people who are not health and safety specialists. This course can also help you to prepare for employment, or if you are already employed it will help you to progress in your own professional development.

Course details

In this course, you will study four units. Here’s a taste of what you will find out.

Unit one: Introduction to the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974)

This Unit covers:

• The background to the 1974 Act
• Features of the 1974 Act
• Duties imposed by the 1974 Act
• The general duties of your employer
• Employers’ duties regarding consultation with employees
• Employees’ duties under the 1974 Act
• Regulations made under the Act
• The purposes and general features of regulations
• Some principal Regulations
• Enforcement of the Act
• Enforcement of the law
• Powers of inspectors
• Penalties for contravening the 1974 Act

Unit two: Hazards, risks and risk assessment

This Unit covers:

• Hazards
• Risks
• Risk assessment
• How to identify hazards
• How to decide who might be harmed and how
• Considering the risks and deciding whether existing precautions are adequate or not
• Putting control measures in place
• How to document your findings
• How to review and revise the assessment
• Management of Health an Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• Manual Handling Operations and Regulations 1992
• Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992
• Noise at Work Regulations 1989
• Other regulations

Unit three: Electricity, hazardous substances and fire safety

This Unit covers:

• Electrical hazards and regulations for ensuring the safety of electrical equipment
• Workplace practices for the safe use of electrical equipment
• Regulations that control the use of hazardous substances
• Workplace procedures for using hazardous substances
• The causes of fires and the statutory requirements for fire prevention
• Workplace procedures for fire precautions, fire fighting and evacuation

Unit four: Work equipment, personal protective equipment and first aid

This Unit covers:

• Legal and practical controls on provision and use of work equipment and their implications for the workplace
• Workplace procedures for ensuring safe use of work equipment
• The legal controls on the selection, maintenance and use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Workplace procedures for the use of PPE
• The principles of first aid
• Requirements for the provision of first aid

How long does it take?

Health and Safety is a 120 hour course. You can study at your own pace for as little as three hours a week, so you should finish it in 8 - 10 months. But, if you want to work faster you can - it’s entirely up to you.

Although the course is free, your commitment is time. We’ll give you hints and tips and a study planner to help you build regular study slots into your busy lifestyle.

The support you’ll get

You will be assigned to a Further Education college in your area, which will then provide you with an online tutor. Your tutor will be available to help and guide you through the course. You can contact your tutor at any time using v-mail, vision2learn’s own internal messaging system.

Before you get started on your course we ask that you complete a short course induction. From your induction, your tutor can assess the level of support you will need and form an Individual Learning Plan for you. This plan will set out a realistic timeframe for you, and your tutor will negotiate deadline dates for submitting coursework. Tutor support is not only available by v-mail, but also by telephone or e-mail.

Course delivery and assessment

The course is offered online with vision2learn – an innovative web-based learning system, which you can access via your PC from home, work or college. The online course contains all of the learning content needed to meet the assessment requirements of the course and activities to enable you to practise your skills and test your learning. In addition, you receive help and support from an online tutor – who is always just a click away.

About the qualification

Studying Health and Safety leads to the accredited qualification NCFE Level 2 Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety, which helps you to develop the knowledge and skills associated with workplace health and safety.

In order to successfully achieve your qualification you will need to complete a series of assessments as you work through each unit of the course, which you’ll send to your tutor through the v-mail system on vision2learn. Your tutor will assess these and they will build up to form your portfolio of evidence of learning. A certificate will be awarded on satisfactory submission of evidence of learning for all four units.

The computer kit you’ll need

• An Internet enabled PC running MS Windows and Internet Explorer 5 (or later), or Netscape 6 (or later), with JavaScript and cookies enabled
• Email software and an active email account
• Microsoft Word or similar word processing package
• Download Adobe Acrobat.

How to keep your free place open

It’s important that you log on to your study area regularly, keep in contact with your tutor and complete the assessments as you work through your course. If you don’t do this you may lose your free place. If you are experiencing any problems with your learning please let your tutor know and they can help you and ensure that you remain enrolled on the course.